SHSU breaks ground on new med school in Conroe

1of13Sam Houston State University held a groundbreaking ceremony for its College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

2of13Dr. Charles Henley, the incoming dean of the medical school, visits before a groundbreaking ceremony for Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

3of13Sam Houston State University held a groundbreaking ceremony for its College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

4of13Sam Houston State University President Dana Hoyt speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

5of13A sign along the I-45 South feeder announces Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

6of13Dr. Charles Henley, the incoming dean of the medical school, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

7of13A sign along the I-45 South feeder announces Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

8of13Construction of Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building is seen, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

9of13Construction of Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building is seen, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

10of13Construction of Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building is seen, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

11of13Terry Blaylock walks past construction of Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

12of13Dr. Charles Henley, the incoming dean of the medical school, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

13of13A groundbreaking shovel is seen etched with a rendering of Sam Houston State Universitys College of Osteopathic Medicine building, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Conroe. The project consists of a five-story 216,000 square foot building on 7.3 acres on Interstate 45 just south of South Loop 336. Sam Houston State choose osteopathic medicine, a branch of the profession that takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine, in large part because graduates are more likely to practice primary care medicine and center their practice in rural areas and places like East Texas, where a long-standing shortage of doctors is worsening and some patients must travel 100 miles or more to find care.Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Nearly 139 years ago, Sam Houston State University addressed a need in education by opening the first teacher-training school in the southwestern United States. Now its working to alleviate a shortage of primary care physicians in Texas to support rural health care needs.

Committed to the effort, the university broke ground on its new $65 million College of Osteopathic Medicine in Conroe Friday, marking Montgomery County’s first medical college and the only medical college located between Houston and Dallas. SHSU President Dana Hoyt said the college was prompted to launch the facility by an assessment of state and regional workforce needs. The college will train doctors, who will mainly be primary care physicians, with a focus toward care in rural and underserved areas.

“Once again Sam Houston State University continues our legacy in responding to the state’s workforce needs with a new proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine,” Hoyt said. “… In our East Texas service area, there is one primary care physician for every 4,510 people. Residents of this region, which include 60,000 alumni of the university, understand the impact of this critical shortage all too well.”

Hoyt joined by members of the Texas State University System Board of Regents, members of the SHSU President’s Cabinet, faculty and staff and elected officials as they celebrated the milestone moment by ceremoniously digging shovels into a sandbox on the site of the proposed college.

The five-story building will be built on a 7.3-acre piece of land donated by the Johnson Development Corp. within Grand Central Park, the corporation’s master-planned community on Interstate 45 just south of Loop 336. The plan is to construct 108,000 square feet of the 216,000 square foot building in the first phase, which will include surface parking. A future phase two expansion will add another 108,000 square feet. Surface parking will then be decreased with the addition of a parking garage.

The school is awaiting accreditation from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation in Chicago, but it is anticipated to open in August 2020 with an initial enrollment of 120 students. SHSU plans to use federal funding, particularly those designated for rural areas, to create as many as 235 new residencies in East Texas. Germane Solutions, a consultancy working with SHSU, estimates $68 million to $92 million would be provided each year to participating East Texas hospitals.

“The proposed college will have a community-based clinically focused model that will collaborate with hospitals in rural East Texas counties to establish residency training programs that will benefit the people living in those areas,” Hoyt said. “To date, the proposed college has confirmed 20 affiliation agreements with 26 hospitals.”

SHSU has pursued the medical school for at least four years. The university was unable to build on the main campus in Huntsville because no land was available, which led to the decision to construct the college in Conroe.

In August, the university received approval to open the medical school from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and in September accepted the land donation as a gift. There are 34 accredited osteopathic colleges in the United States, including two in Texas. About 12 percent of medical students in Texas study osteopathic medicine.

“This marks the beginning of a new era of expansion for the university in health care education,” said Dr. Charles Henley, the incoming dean of the medical school